Spring has Sprung!
Hi friends and welcome to March. I know the past few weeks, with the intense Arctic blasts, have felt anything like spring in most parts of the country, but here in Arizona, it is already warming up nicely. We are starting to see trees in full display with beautiful buds preparing to produce fruit for the summer.
One principle I love about Ayurveda is when living in the present we adjust our lifestyle to match what is being offered by nature. We are ready here in Arizona to move into our period of internal and external spring cleaning. That may still be several weeks out for our friends in different parts of the country. The current harvest here looks much different than New Hampshire for instance. Once the snow begins to melt and signs of spring appear it is time to enjoy the bounty of foods to scrub the channels and clean the tissues of the body. We want to focus on moving any stagnant lymph, lighten up from the cold months of winter and of course, shed some of those pesky pandemic pounds.
There are certain practices that would be especially beneficial now. If using a body brush or raw silk gloves is not in your daily routine, this would be the time to add this practice to your morning practice. Sipping warm ginger tea to cut mucous would be wise. Bhastrika or billows breath to clear the lungs will also help you to remain healthy during this season.
If you are interested in planning an Ayurvedic Spring Cleanse join me on Zoom:
Sunday, March 14th from 12:00-2:30pm (MST)
Three highlights of this class will be:
1. The principles of cleansing in the spring.
2. Recognizing how our body communicates to us.
3. The nurturing effects of kitchari.
All of the information and way to register is here.
Dharma is well practiced by the good. Dharma, however, is always afflicted by two things, the desire for profit (artha) entertained by those that covet it, and the desire for pleasure (kama) cherished by those that are wedded to it. Whoever, without afflicting dharma by profit, or dharma by pleasure, follow all three—dharma, profit and pleasure—succeeds in obtaining great happiness.
—The Mahabharata
We have been exploring the Purusharthas known as “the goals of human existence”. I wrote about Dharma, which is our life’s purpose in the January newsletter. Artha, regarding our prosperity was covered in February. As we move into Spring we will dive into Kama.
Kama translates to desire or longing. In contemporary literature, kama typically refers to sexual desire. However, the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional attraction, or aesthetic pleasure. These joys can come from art, dance, music, painting, sculpture, and nature. Everything in the universe is born of desire or longing. Even the creation of the universe came to be because The Divine Source longed or desired to experience Itself.
As stated in the Rig Veda, “Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire the primal seed and germ of Spirit, Sages who searched with their heart's thought discovered the existent's kinship in the non-existent.”
Any creation in our own life is based out of a desire. The important thing to observe is knowing where the desire is coming from. Does the desire grow from our soul's purpose? Is it supporting the fulfillment of our dharma? Is it the flesh or the ego?
The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, uses the term kama in a broader sense:
Man consists of desire (kama),
As his desire is, so is his determination,
As his determination is, so is his deed,
Whatever his deed is, that he attains.
When our desires are not based in dharma then Kama may be the cause of much suffering. Desire driven by the ego, can create an insatiable hunger. A sense of lack or a distorted mind can drive us to behave in such a way that will not be beneficial to our life’s purpose. Our overall wellbeing will pay the price.
However, when our desires are guided by dharma they will bloom beautifully. When practicing Kama with the intention of Self Realization, one is fully present to the experience, using all of the sense organs to help discover the object. We mindfully approach our natural dharmic desires so kama can awaken and heal parts of us where creativity has dried up. It can inspire us to remain focused, offering clear and direct guidance. This will become the fuel to the natural flow of life’s purpose. Kama is the source of our fullness of love that naturally gives us the drive to help those who come into our life. The highest form of Kama is the desire to experience and understand our true nature which will develop into a longing for oneness with the Divine.
From: March 2021 Newsletter